Effect of daily iron supplementation on health in children aged 4–23 months: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

About 47% of preschool children worldwide are anaemic. Daily oral iron supplementation is a commonly recommended intervention for treatment and prevention of anaemia, but the efficacy and safety of iron supplementation programmes is debated. Thus, we systematically reviewed the evidence for benefit and safety of daily iron supplementation in children aged 4-23 months.We searched Scopus and Medline, from inception to Feb 5, 2013, WHO databases,...